The Sorceress Sleeps
by Czigany
Summary: ME2 - A raid on yet another rogue lab uncovers biotic experiments and one especially fiery redhead. Magic-is-biotics, no pairings. Now a two-shot, marked complete but possibility of continuation.
1. The Sorceress Sleeps

**Disclaimer:** _Slayers_ is the property of Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, and various and sundry publishing companies. _Mass __Effect_ is the property of Bioware, Microsoft Game Studios, and Electronic Arts. I am none of these, and as such make no money from this venture.

Word count: 1000

* * *

The facility was a mess. The power was spotty and what looked like cryostasis pods were strewn haphazardly around the labs. Some were shattered, some were simply empty. None worked, all life signs were dead. Mordin sniffed, and Shepard turned. He was standing before one of the intact machines, shaking his head. When she approached, he stepped aside so she too could see what was inside.

"Human female. Early adolescent," the salarian spoke quietly in the still room. "Appears civilian, likely died in sleep. Peaceful. Marked as Specimen Zephilia 0032. Others marked similar."

Shepard shook her head and gestured for them to move on. A few rooms further in, they finally found a terminal that still had power. Accessing it revealed a video report from an agitated, pacing man.

"_El is getting restless. Subject One has been responding well, but our other Zephilia specimens are failing. We lost forty-five through fifty-two just this morning. What's worse is that the more we lose, the more One's brainwave patterns fluctuate. El is confident she can't wake, but I sure don't want to find out."_

"So," Garrus hummed thoughtfully. "Find One and hope there are answers nearby?"

"Seems like the best idea," the Commander sighed, already heading for the far door. Her team fell into step behind her.

The next lab they found with power was also still occupied. A brief firefight and all but one of the scientists were down. The last was held at gunpoint by a dispassionate Garrus. Shepard paced agitatedly while Mordin checked the pods lining the walls. When he returned shaking his head, she whirled on their prisoner.

"What were you doing to these people?"

The man quailed, eyes darting between his captors but straying most often to the gun still drawn on him. "A-ah, w-we were t-testing Subject O-one's biotic potential u-using virtual r-reality. El-sama's p-procedure ensures she d-doesn't require an implant."

Shepard gestured at the lifeless tanks around them, fire in her eyes. "And the rest of them?" She sneered. "Support staff?"

"Y-y-yes. They k-keep her brainwaves stable, k-keeps her believing in the VR, b-but it kills them. W-we're not sure how."

"This El-sama. Where can we find them?"

"I-in the central l-lab, probably..? S-she hardly ever leaves S-Subject One alone."

When Shepard simply stared icily, the scientist darted pleading glances at the aliens flanking her. Finally, Garrus growled, mandibles flared in irritation, "Directions."

"A-ah!" He stuttered them out, tripping over his words as he gestured the turns they would take with his hands. When he had finished, the Commander turned away in silence, starting off through the corridors. Garrus followed, immediately dismissing the man. As they exited the lab, Mordin paused to instruct the man flatly, "Recommend leaving facility. Probability of explosion: 98%. Suggest running."

He had rejoined them by the time they found another occupied lab. This time, none of the scientists survived. Shepard was ready to stalk through the doors, intent on finding their target before Subject One could be terminated, when the geneticist called for her attention.

"Possibility of life, Commander. Several stations retain power. Attempt extraction?"

She moved closer, eyeing each of the 'specimens' through their observation windows. After a moment's thought, she shook her head. "As distasteful as it is, we should try to free One first. If they all stabilise her, she may die if they're removed from the VR system. If we extract her first, hopefully they'll still be alive when we return."

The salarian nodded his assent and they moved on, clearing through three more occupied labs before reaching the hallway that led to their destination. They maintained radio silence now, reflexively checking weaponry as they moved into position. When both Garrus and Mordin flashed her the signal, she opened the door and stepped through, gun held at the ready.

There was only one person in this room and, as soon as Shepard appeared through the doors, the strange woman attacked. A sharp report from Garrus' sniper rifle bit through her barriers and dual Incinerates from Mordin and Shepard disintegrated her armour. Shrieking wordlessly, the crazed woman tossed down her pistol and launched herself at the Commander, fingers curled like claws. Shepard waited for her to approach, lowering her gun to deliver a punishing elbow to her attacker's face before retreating. Another shot from Garrus' rifle and the woman faltered, sagging to the ground with a bullet hole in her chest and a vaguely stunned expression on her face.

All three waited a moment longer before holstering their weapons. As they did, Shepard shot a look at the sniper over her shoulder. He shrugged. "Headshots are messy."

She merely shook her head, amused, and approached the tank with Mordin. The turian kept watch at the door. As Mordin examined the pod, Shepard turned to the console nearby. Before she could touch anything however, a VI interface sprang to life beside it.

"Welcome back, El-sama," it stated pleasantly. "Lina is currently eating, but could be induced to rest if you wish to speak with her."

The Commander glanced at Mordin, who returned her look with a silent negative; Subject One was unmoving. Shepard turned back to the VI. "No. I wish to wake... Lina... up. It is time to extract her."

The VI was silent for a long moment, and she began to doubt it would respond at all. "Extraction not currently recommended, El-sama. Lina has not yet reached full potential."

"Nevertheless, it is time. We are losing too many peripheral specimens to continue. Extract Subject One."

"Very well, El-sama. Preparing removal of Subject One from Project Zephilia. Is there anything else you require?"

"Prepare the removal of all other specimens also. This base is being abandoned."

"Acknowledged. Project Zephilia shutting down. Logging you out, El-sama."

The VI disappeared then and the stasis pod hissed as the fluid inside drained and the door unlocked. Mordin pried it open with nimble fingers and all three watched silently as Subject One took a shuddering gasp and opened startlingly red eyes.


	2. Power Inherent

**Disclaimer:** _Slayers_ is the property of Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, and various and sundry publishing companies. _Mass __Effect_ is the property of Bioware, Microsoft Game Studios, and Electronic Arts. I am none of these, and as such make no money from this venture.

Word count: 2000

* * *

The girl in the tank was the first to speak, voice cracking with disuse. "Who are you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard," she shifted faintly, keeping the girl's attention focused on her. "Do you have a name?"

"Lina Inverse," the redhead replied, eyeing them warily before looking around the room. "Where are the others? Where are we?"

"We're in a Cerberus facility," Shepard kept her voice light, but this wasn't looking good for the girl's mental state. "Which others are you talking about? We found quite a few people in similar tanks, but very few of them are still alive."

"Cerberus..?" Lina seemed confused. "Few survivors? You're not making any sense."

The Commander shrugged minutely, uncomfortably unsure how to address the existence of Project Zephilia's other specimens. "Where were you expecting to be?"

"We were just outside Seiruun! None of this is right." With the look of indignant fury she'd just been given, Shepard almost expected the redhead to stomp her foot in a frustrated tantrum.

Instead, the girl finally moved to leave her tank and Shepard stepped back to give her space. Garrus eyed her warily from his post while Mordin drifted to the desk to shuffle through whatever notes he could find. When her legs, weak from a life of inactivity, collapsed under her, the Commander reached out to catch her small frame. Before she could, however, Lina muttered a frustrated, "Levitation!"

Shepard gaped as the redhead floated a few inches from the ground, her simple white shift fluttering about her knees.

"Impressive," Mordin noted from where he watched.

Lina turned to him and floated closer, brows furrowed. "You're strange looking... some type of mazoku? Hm..."

"Salarian, actually," Mordin clarified in his usual clipped tones. Turning to the Commander, he gave an approximation of a raised eyebrow. "Ignorance of Council races unusual. Must assume virtual reality vastly different."

Lina glanced back at Shepard, gesturing to the scientist beside her. "Can you understand this guy? He makes no sense to me."

"Yes, I can understand him. Mordin is a salarian, not a... what did you call him? Mazoku?"

"Yeah, mazoku. Demons who inhabit the astral plane. They tend to favour weird forms when they project to the physical." Her ruby eyes cut to Garrus, who was alternately scanning the hallway and making sure she didn't make a move on his Commander. "What about that guy?"

"Garrus is a turian. Neither of them are demons and both exist solely on the, ah, physical plane, as far as I know."

Red eyebrows shot upwards in surprise. "Really? That's unusual." She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "You say you found others?"

"We should leave anyway, Commander," Garrus muttered from the door. "Joker always complains when we make him hang out in orbit for too long."

Shepard nodded and moved towards the door, gesturing for Lina to follow. They were halfway across the room when there was a startled gasp from the smaller girl. "By Cephied... L-sama! You killed L-sama!"

Instantly Garrus and Mordin had weapons in hand, not yet trained on the girl, but ready if the need arose. Shepard raised her hands in a placating gesture. "She attacked first. You recognise her?"

Lina stared at the body on the floor dumbly for a moment before shaking her head. "Not... as such?" She made a few frustrated gestures, turning her troubled gaze up to meet the Commander's. "She would appear in my dreams... the Lord of Chaos, Mother of All Mazoku, Creator of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo and Flare Dragon Cephied. She was... she was all-powerful. If she's dead, my..." She trailed off again, then glanced over at Shepard's team with uncertainty. "Can you three cast Levitation?"

They traded looks before the Commander shook her head. "No. What you're doing is an impressive display of biotic control. We do have transportation outside, if that's what you're asking."

"Biotic control? No, no. I mean magic. I have no idea what you're talking about."

Garrus shifted impatiently and Shepard flashed him a glance. "Let's talk about this once we're back on our ship. We'll take you wherever you want to go, but we should check for other survivors and leave now."

Lina observed them shrewdly for a moment, then nodded. "Lead on. I'm getting hungry!"

"Well you have been living in a tank for the last who-knows-how-many years. Maybe that'll make the nutrient paste taste good," Garrus snarked. Shepard smacked him lightly on the arm as she passed.

They found fewer specimens still alive than they had hoped as they retraced their path through the labs. None of them seemed to be the 'others' that Lina was looking for, but they all seemed to be in better shape physically than the redhead was. At least they could all walk on their own. When they reached the roof where the Kodiak waited, Lina spoke up once more. "Can this thing actually fly?"

"Yeah, it's capable of sub-orbital flight and limited space flight," Shepard replied distractedly, gesturing for the half-dozen humans to enter the shuttle before her teammates. "We'll use it to break orbit and reach the Normandy."

"Can it hover?" Lina pressed.

"Sure, though we don't usually do so."

"Will you let me try something once we're in the air? With L-sama dead, I need to know if my other magics still work."

"Possibility of explosion: 99.9-repeating," Mordin remarked, amused, from just inside the Kodiak. Garrus flared his mandibles in a smirk and Shepard grinned at them over her shoulder before glancing at Lina again.

"How high do we need to go?"

The redhead laughed nervously, one hand rubbing the back of her neck. "I'll tell you when to stop?"

The Commander waved at the open shuttle door. "I'll inform the pilots. You should get inside."

When Lina determined they were far enough above the facility, she asked for the door to be opened. The other survivors crowded to the far side, wary of the drop, but Shepard and her team moved to stand at the edge so as to better observe. The redhead floated out into the open air, cupping her hands before her and chanting softly.

Mordin sucked in a startled breath and Shepard glanced over to where the salarian was staring intently at his omnitool. "Amazing readings. Exceptional control. Odd mnemonic, but-" the complex below them exploded with the force of a thirty megaton bomb. "-unbelievable power."

"Haha!" Lina crowed, one hand punching the air in victory as she observed the wreckage below. She was grinning widely as she returned to the Kodiak. "The Giga Slave still works, and I can't feel the hesitation in the casting anymore. This is amazing! My hair isn't white this time!" She sighed wistfully, tugging a wavy lock, a smile never leaving her face. "I wish Zel could have seen it, though."

As they closed the door and radioed the Normandy for pick-up, Lina settled on one of the cramped benches beside Shepard. The taller woman sat back, glancing across the small aisle at her two aliens before speaking to the girl next to her. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have our doctors take a look at you when we get aboard the Normandy. Also, if you could refrain from using offensive... magics on my ship, I'd be grateful. If anyone gives you a problem, come to me."

Ruby eyes slanted her way. "Is anyone likely to do so?"

Garrus gave an amused snort from where he was ostensibly looking out the window. Lina raised a delicate eyebrow in his direction as Shepard answered, curtailing her own laughter. "As long as you don't touch anything in the main battery, Garrus won't be a problem. The lab is Mordin's domain and is full of delicate experiments, so I'm sure he'd rather you didn't disturb any of them either."

She rubbed the bridge of her nose where her scar had once cut across her face and sighed. "You probably ought to stay out of the Armoury too. The only person I can think of who might give you a hard time just by existing is Jack. Stay out of her way and don't let on how much... magic you possess."

"Why not?"

"'Cause she's fucking crazy," Joker's voice echoed through the docking bay as the vehicle set down gently. "Everybody, please lock your tray tables, return your seats to the upright position, and exit calmly to your right. Thank you for flying Kodiak Air and welcome aboard the Normandy SR-2."

A few of the survivors looked around, confused. One of them spoke hesitantly. "Where is that voice coming from?"

Shepard hummed thoughtfully, ignoring the question for the moment and tilting her head towards the ceiling slightly. "EDI, please inform Dr. Chakwas that she has seven patients I'd like her to look over, and tell Miranda we'll need her in the med bay as well."

"Doctors Chakwas and Lawson are standing by, Shepard," the AI answered. "I have taken the liberty of informing Yeoman Chambers that her services may also be needed."

"Yeah, thanks EDI," the Commander sighed, turning back to the refugees. Gesturing for them to follow, she addressed the man who had spoken earlier as she ushered them into the elevator. "Those voices came from the intercom system. The male was our pilot, Joker. The female was the ship's... computer, EDI."

When she saw the blank looks on their faces, she rolled her eyes mentally and offered them a much simpler explanation. "It's magic?"

They nodded at that, expressions smoothing as they relaxed in her presence. Lina watched her shrewdly from the corner. As they stepped from the elevator onto the crew deck, she addressed the humans who followed her like ducklings. "I realise a lot of this seems strange, but please refrain from touching anything or any_one_without permission. The only exception is if you require the restroom, please don't hesitate." She pointed out where each was and, as some slipped off to use the facilities immediately, she took a moment to speak with Gardner about getting some food into their new additions.

When she had ushered them all into the med bay at last, leaving them over to the care of Miranda and Dr. Chakwas, she returned to the mess hall and slid tiredly into a chair. Putting her arms on the table, she dropped her head into the dark cradle they formed. A gravelly chuckle from across the table had her looking up again, meeting the mismatched eyes of her resident mercenary over the cup of coffee he'd slid before her. "Ought to set up your own little primary school when you're done saving the galaxy, Shepard," he rumbled, drinking deeply from his own mug.

"Yeah," she scoffed as she unlatched her gauntlets and set them aside in favor of the bitter drink. "I can make sure the little bleeders know how to lob a proper grenade and drop a charging krogan with a headshot at 500 yards."

"You could follow up with improvised weapons-making and teaching the brats how to hold their liquor. Useful life skills, those."

"Well, I guess I'll have to bring you in to supplement their education with war stories and Omega Seven Card, then," she teased back.

He scoffed, gaze sliding to the mirrored windows of the med bay behind her.

"Surprised you aren't just watching from the cargo bay," she murmured around the rim of her cup.

"I've got it set to record your cabin for an hour every time the Kodiak docks," he returned idly. "Be bloody boring this time around, though."

She laughed lightly, not entirely sure he wasn't serious, and they sat in comfortable silence until the doors hissed open behind her and Miranda stepped out. Catching the Commander's eye as she passed, the Cerberus operative crossed back to her own office with a clear expectation of being followed. Exchanging rolled eyes with Zaeed, Shepard stood and entered her XO's office, her gauntlets laying forgotten beside her empty mug.


End file.
